12-29-2011, 03:00 AM
Just got home from our annual family ice fishing vacation. Every year it seems that things go perfect, and this year was no different. We decided to invite one of my neighbors along with their kids so there were a huge number of kids on the ice and I'm sure it was quite a sight for anyone who saw us out there.
On day#1 we swam in the lava indoor pool before preparing for the next days' icefishing adventure. We wanted to make sure that the kids got into fish on day #1 so my fishsense pointed us in the direction of Montpelier. We arrived bright and early the first ones on the lake which is no small feat considering we had a combined 11 kids to get ready for the day!!!
We set up in a cove on the far shore. My fishsense proved correct as the fishing was fast an furious for planter bows and perch. I have no idea how many we caught but the number was huge. The planter bows were found in 15 ft of water and the perch were found everywhere. The vexilar definately helped us pull in fish as the early bite wore off and the fishing slowed down. The bows took paddle bugs, while the perch preferred ratfinkies. We tipped both with mealworms. We left around 2:00 as I knew it was just a matter of time until the kids got cold as they had become soaked from climbing the hills and sledding down.
When we got back to Lava we soaked in the hotsprings. Really a perfect way to relax after a great day of fishing with the kids.
On day two I decided to try DC (specifics through PMs to active members only please). I could not have asked for a more perfect day of fishing with my neighbors and kids. The starting temp was around 25 degrees with no wind and it only got warmer from there. The ice was popping really bad today and that kind of freaked out the newbies who had never heard it before.
I found it funny that I had to change all my poles to green paddle bugs as these fish would have nothing to do with the white ones I had been using at Henrys. I also had a lot of luck with small ice flies (no they are not truly flies) tipped with mealworms. I could not believe the size of some of those fish we caught on tiny 1/32 or even 1/64 jigs.
I never did zero in on a certain depth. We literaly caught fish from the bank out to 30' of water. They just seemed to randomly come through at various depths.
We caught plenty of fish jigging, but the jawjackers were on fire today. Much fun watching the kids run back and forth reeling in big fish. For adults there is something to be said for the fine art of jigging. For kids they just want to reel in a fish and the jawjackers certainly delivered today.
My wife even caught plenty of fish sitting in the ice house...It was way to hot in there for me. It reminded me of breathing the steam at Lava Hotsprings.
I will post pictures of my adventure as soon as I get time to get them off of my camera.
Windriver
[signature]
On day#1 we swam in the lava indoor pool before preparing for the next days' icefishing adventure. We wanted to make sure that the kids got into fish on day #1 so my fishsense pointed us in the direction of Montpelier. We arrived bright and early the first ones on the lake which is no small feat considering we had a combined 11 kids to get ready for the day!!!
We set up in a cove on the far shore. My fishsense proved correct as the fishing was fast an furious for planter bows and perch. I have no idea how many we caught but the number was huge. The planter bows were found in 15 ft of water and the perch were found everywhere. The vexilar definately helped us pull in fish as the early bite wore off and the fishing slowed down. The bows took paddle bugs, while the perch preferred ratfinkies. We tipped both with mealworms. We left around 2:00 as I knew it was just a matter of time until the kids got cold as they had become soaked from climbing the hills and sledding down.
When we got back to Lava we soaked in the hotsprings. Really a perfect way to relax after a great day of fishing with the kids.
On day two I decided to try DC (specifics through PMs to active members only please). I could not have asked for a more perfect day of fishing with my neighbors and kids. The starting temp was around 25 degrees with no wind and it only got warmer from there. The ice was popping really bad today and that kind of freaked out the newbies who had never heard it before.
I found it funny that I had to change all my poles to green paddle bugs as these fish would have nothing to do with the white ones I had been using at Henrys. I also had a lot of luck with small ice flies (no they are not truly flies) tipped with mealworms. I could not believe the size of some of those fish we caught on tiny 1/32 or even 1/64 jigs.
I never did zero in on a certain depth. We literaly caught fish from the bank out to 30' of water. They just seemed to randomly come through at various depths.
We caught plenty of fish jigging, but the jawjackers were on fire today. Much fun watching the kids run back and forth reeling in big fish. For adults there is something to be said for the fine art of jigging. For kids they just want to reel in a fish and the jawjackers certainly delivered today.
My wife even caught plenty of fish sitting in the ice house...It was way to hot in there for me. It reminded me of breathing the steam at Lava Hotsprings.
I will post pictures of my adventure as soon as I get time to get them off of my camera.
Windriver
[signature]
][fishin]